Axle-lubricator



(No Model.)

J. J. STEVER.

AXLE LUBRIG'ATOR.

No. 439,207." Patented Oct. 28, 1890.

Mir basses Inventor:

=7&172423 I Siez/er UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. STEVER, OF OWOSSO, MICHIGAN.

AXLE-LU BRICATO R.

QPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,207, dated October28, 1890. Application filed April 21, 1890. Serial No. 348,872- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES J. STEVER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Owosso, in the county of Shiawassee and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AXle-Lubricators,of which the following is a specification, reference being had thereinto the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in car-axleoilers; and the invention consists in the peculiar construction of theframe, a spring-actuated arm hinged thereto, a bearing'plate pivotallyconnected with the upper end of said frame, and a wicking on saidbearing-plate to feed the oil to the journal; further, in the peculiarconstruction of wearing-surfaces or lugs formed on said bearing-plate,which bear against the journal and prevent the wearing out of thewicking; further, in the peculiar construction of side bearings or lugson said bearingplate, whereby the spread of the oil is limited and theoil is prevented from working out through the ends 7 of the axle-box;further, in the peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination ofthe various parts, all as more fully hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a car-axle box,showing one half of my oiler in section and the other half in elevation.Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view of the base and spring-actuatedarm. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the bearing-plate.

A is the car-axle box; B, is the journal of the axle; C, is thejournal-bearing, all of known and usual construction.

In the previous construction of car-axle oilers it has been founddifficult to make them so that they may be insertedinto the car-axle boxwhile the box is in place upon the car, and at the same time make such adevice efficient and give a sufficiently long life to the wicking, bymeans of which the oil is fed to the journal. To this end my oilerconsists of two like halves arranged one on each side of the journal.

D is thebase, which is made of alight rectangular frame (1., having theupwardly-proj ecting arm I) at right angles thereto at one end andhaving the lugs c at the other end,

in which is secured thebolt or pin cl, upon which is hinged the arm e.

f is a spring having a central loop g, engaging over the lug h upon thecross-bard of the frame (1,, and having the coils around the pin d, andthe upwardly-extending arms is, bearing against the cross-bar l of thearm 6.

The arm 6 preferably consists of a light open rectangular frame havingthe connecting-bar m at its upper end, to which is pinotally secured thecurved bearing-plate E.

This bearing-plate is pivotally supported on the bar m, preferably byforming the lugs oon the rear side of the plate to embrace the bar m,and the lugs 0' extend downwardly on each side of the plate. to preventany end motion of the bearing-plate upon the arm.

F and F are slots formed in the top and bottom of the bearing-plate,respectively, and

through which the wicking G is passed, the

lower end thereof being allowed to extend down to near the bottom of thecar-axle box.

G arelugs or flanges formed on the outer edge of the bearing-plate E andcorrespondingly curved with said plate, and of a height equal to thethickness of the felt or wicking placed upon the bearing-plate, so thatin use they will bear firmly against the journal upon either side of thewicking and prevent the end flow of the oil, thereby preventing itsleaking out at the end of the car-axle box. This flange or lug G alsoprevents the wearing out of the wicking by being pressed tightly againstthe journal. If these lugs or similar lugs were not present, the fullforce of the spring f would be exerted to press the wick against thejournal. The effect of this would be to rapidly wear out the wick, andthe clamping of the wick between the journal and the bearing-plate wouldprevent the free capillary action of the wick.

H are lugs or wearing-faces formed at the top and bottom of thewearing-plate between the slots F F, and engaging in suitable aperturesformed in the feltor wicking, so that any faster than the lugs H and Gare worn off in the use of the device, and at no time will the wick betightly clamped against the journal.

By slightly curving the arm e and making the base D light the-two partsD e, which are hinged together, may be clamped together, forming but athin piece when so clamped, which may be readily inserted into thejournal-box while the box is upon the car. As soon as they are inposition, one being placed upon each side of the journal, as shown inFig. 1, the spring will firmly hold the wicking in contact with thejournal. The upwardlyextended arm I) will prevent the frame fromtilting, and this arm will be held tightly against the side of thecar-axle box by the tension of the spring.

To accommodate all sizes of car-axle box I make my frame slightlynarrower than the ordinary box, which also enables me to more readilyinsert it in position.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 2.. In a car-axle oiler, thecombination, with the frame, of a spring-actuated arm hinged thereto,bearing-plate pivoted on said arm, and Wicking on said plate,substantially as described.

2. In a car-axle oiler, the combination, with the frame, of aspring-actuated arm hinged thereto at one end, the upward extension atthe other end, a bearing-plate on said arm, and wicking on said plate,substantially as described.

3. In a car-axle oiler, the combination, with the frame, of aspring-actuated arm hinged thereto at one end, the upward extension atthe other end, a bearing-plate centrally pivoted to said arm, and thewicking on said plate, substantially as described.

4. In a car-axle lubricator, independent frames located on oppositesides of the axlecarrying spring-actuated arms and held in position bythe arms, and hearings on the arms, substantially as described.

5. In a car-axle oiler, a bearing-plate provided with wick supportingwearing-faces adapted to bear against the journal and passing-throughthe wicking, substantially as described.

6. In a car-axle oiler, the combination, with the frame, of aspring-actuated arm hinged thereto, a bearing-plate on said arm,wearingfaces on and between the edges of said bearing adapted to bearagainst the journal, and the wicking on said bearing-plate,substantially as described.

7. In a car-axle oiler, the combination, with a bearing-plate carryingthe wicking, of a side lug or lugs bearing against the journal to limitthe spread of the oil, substantially as described.

8. In a car-axle oiler, the combination, with spring-actuatedbearing-plate carrying the wicking of the curved lugs G on each sidethereof bearing against the journal to limit the spread of the oil,substantially as described.

9. In a car-axle oiler, the combination, with the fiat frame of lesswidth than the aXlebox, of a curved spring-arm arranged above and hingedthereto and carrying a detachable bearing-plate, and a wicking, the twoparts adapted to be folded together, substantially as any for thepurpose described.

10. In a car-axle lubricator, independent frames located on oppositesides of the axlecarrying spring-actuated arms, and curved bearingspivoted on the arms, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES J. STEVER.

XVitnesses:

M. B. ODQGHERTY, P. M. HULBERT.

